New office paper for old

By Manufacturing newsdesk

Published Tuesday, May 18, 2010

An office supplies company has claimed it can offer the UK’s first closed-loop recycling process for copier paper.

Banner Business Services said that it collects and shreds used paper, sends it for cleaning and reprocessing, and then delivers it back to the same customer in the form of clean copier paper. The recycled paper is suitable for both mono and colour, laser, inkjet and copier usage, the company claimed.

“This ‘closed loop’ service will enable businesses and organisations to re-use and recycle their business paper time after time, without the worry of data security issues,” said Andy Craig, commercial director of Banner’s parent company, office2office.

“If every business used 100 per cent recycled copier paper we could save more than 3.9 billion KWh of energy every year. Recycled paper uses 60 per cent less energy and 55 per cent less water to produce than virgin pulp-based copier paper, and every tonne of recycled paper saves 13 mature trees. Furthermore, our ‘Closed Loop’ product is of comparable quality and price to other recycled papers, including those which use a proportion of virgin pulp in their manufacture.

Craig added: “Our closed-loop paper process provides customers with an audited, data backed process, allowing them to monitor how much paper they recycle and where their waste paper is up to in the recycling process.

“Initial feedback we have received suggests customers and their employees value the fact they are able to re-use the actual waste they created, in a sustainable way. It represents a giant step forward for environmentally aware organisations.”

Banner said that total office copier paper consumption in the UK is estimated at 750,000 tonnes per year, of which only 50,000 tonnes - seven per cent - is 100 per cent recycled.

The total public sector consumption is estimated at 100,000 tonnes, with a stated objective for this to be recycled. Several public sector organisations have successfully trialled the closed-loop paper process, the company said, including HM Revenue & Customs and the Ministry of Justice.